Raiders top Panthers, close in on milestone

Tamaqua was a quarter away from making Monday's 65-52 Schuylkill League Division I victory over Panther Valley a historic one for the program.

The history will have to wait for one more win. As it was, the victory was important as the Raiders' turnaround season continues.

Bo Rottet had 15 points for Tamaqua (9-4, 4-2 D-I), while Brett Kosciolek added a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Zach Wargula added 11 points for the Raiders, who were coming off a disappointing 61-52 loss to Southern Lehigh on Saturday.

Tamaqua lead that game 43-33 entering the fourth quarter, but a 28-9 run by the Spartans cost the Raiders a win. That would have made Monday's victory the 1,000th in the history of the program, but that will have till wait.

Tamaqua's next game is Friday at North Schuylkill, followed by two more tough division games against Blue Mountain (Jan. 22) and Pottsville (Jan. 25).

Monday was a good bounce-back victory, leaving the Raiders two wins away from earning their first District 11 playoff berth since 2004. It also snapped Tamaqua's 10-game losing streak against the Panthers.

Prior to Monday, the Raiders' last win in the series was Dec. 28, 2005, in the Tamaqua Christmas Tournament.

"Today we talked about closing out and I thought we did a nice job of closing out the game," Raiders coach Caszy Kosciolek said. "(Panther Valley coach) Pat Crampsie does a great job with this program and I knew it was going to be a dogfight.

"This was critical game. The kids responded and I couldn't be happier with the effort."

It was a closer than the final score indicated.

The Panthers' Jake Szczecina hit a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer from 25 feet and then hit another 3 off a pick from the wing early in the third quarter, tying the game at 29.

Tamaqua responded with a 13-2 run to make it 42-31 after a bucket by Wargula at 2:24. The Panthers got to within 49-42 after Brett Kerschner scored on fast-break layup with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter.

The Raiders went on a 10-0 run from there, finished off by bucket inside by Adam Frantz with 2:20 left in the game, to build a 59-42 lead.

Caszy Kosciolek credits his team's penetration in leading the second-half offensive effort. Tamaqua also did a much better job of protecting the basketball, committing just five turnovers in the second half compared to 11 in the first.

"I thought we did a good job of penetrating," Kosciolek said. "If you look at our shot chart, we shoot perimeter shots, we are too perimeter and I think we did a great job getting into the gut of the defense. We have a bunch of unselfish kids."

The Raiders also hit the offensive boards hard, grabbing seven in the second half and holding a 21-9 advantage overall in the half. Crampsie felt playing a box-and-1 on Brett Kosciolek didn't help the Panthers on the boards.

"Second-chance points, they got them," Crampsie said. "Even when didn't get offensive rebounds, with their height and athleticism, they kept a lot of balls alive they eventually ran them down."

Steven Romanchik had 17 points to lead the Panthers (2-12, 1-5 D-I), who have now lost nine straight. Szczecina added 13 points and five rebounds for Panther Valley, while Kerschner tallied 11 points.

The Panthers were coming off a lackluster 79-47 drubbing at Lehighton on Saturday. Crampsie got the effort he was looking for Monday, but Panther Valley was done in by its cold offensive stretches in the second half.

"We went through a dry spell there where I thought our kids did a great job of getting us good looks," Crampsie said. "We had a few trips in a row where we got good looks but it just didn't fall, in and out. Those type of things happen, there is nothing you can do about it.

"The defensive intensity, effort and emotion was 100 times better than Saturday and we are real happy with that."

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